Automatic weighing-machine



(No Model!) 2 Sheets-Sheetl l. C. H. PHILLIPS 8v W. E. NICKERSON.

AUTOMATIC WEIGHING MACHINE.

nted I'eb. 4, 1896.

HAHAMHOTO-LITHQ moModel.) l ,asheets-sheet 2. C. H. PHILLIPS 8v WE. NICKBRSON.

AUTOMATI WBIGHING MACHINE. i

NO. 554,029. I I Patented Feb. 4, 1896.

AN DRM EGPAHAM.PHDTUUTHDNMSHI l" GTGNJC UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

CHARLES II. PHILLIPS, OF MALDEN,YAND IVILLIAMIMERY NICKERSON, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

AUTOMATIC WElGH|NGlV|ACHlNE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 554,029, dated' February 4, 1896.

Application ld January V16, 1893. Serial No. 458,521. (No model.) l

To LZZ wiz/0m t may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES HENRY PHILLIPS, of Malden, and WILLIAM EMERY NIOKERSON, of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Teighing-llachines, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in automatic weighing-machines, and has for its object the attainment of greater accuracy in automatic weighing than has heretofore been possible.

C ur improved weighin g-machine is adapted to act in connection with a continuous stream of material, and to either deliver the same in lots of uniform weight 0r by means of an ordinary registering device, simply to register the total amount passed through it.

Our invention is illustrated inY the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l shows the machine in front elevation but with a portion of the front framework removed in order that more of the working parts may be seen. Fig. 2 shows the details of construction of a part of the machine. Fig. 3 shows aknife edge of peculiar construction. Fig. 4 shows parts of the machine in a different position. Fig. 5 shows the construction of the chute and deflector.

In the drawings,`(see Fig. 1,) A represents the framework, within and upon which the working parts of the machine are mounted.

I and B are two buckets or receptacles, into which the material to be weighed is delivered through the swinging chute C and pipe t from the bin T. The buckets are provided with standards b and b', upon which are mounted the links L and L', carrying the rollersZ and Z'. IVhile the buckets are receiving their load these rollers Zand Z' rest upon the rollers o' and r', which are mounted upon the lower extremities of the scale-beams R and R', upon the outer ends of which are placed the weights IV and W' respectively. The scale-beams R and R' rest upon the knife edges K and K' and are provided near their lower ends with the adjustable stops S and S', which limit the movement of the scale beams by bearing against the fixed parts s and s', and thus regulate the relative positions of the rollers r and 1" to the rollers Z and Z'. At the upper ends of the standards b and b' are located the knife edges Z.: and Zt', which bear upon the balancing-beams E and E', which have their fulcrums at c and c', and carry upon their outer ends the weights w and w'. This arrangement serves to balance the weight of the buckets and to guide the standards Z) and o' in their vertical movements. B and B' are provided with the dischargedoors D and D', hinged at their lower edges.

vThe doors D and D' are provided with the arms CZ and CZ', which serve the purpose of closing them upon the ascent of the buckets, after which they are secured in their closed position by the latches L2 and L3.

F and F' are stops attached to the framework of the machine, and are so located as to engage on the ascent of the buckets with the arms cZ and cZ', and thereby close the doors D and D'. The stopsfandf' are likewise attached to the frame of the machine and serve by engaging with the latches L2 and L3 to open the doors D and D' upon the descent 0f the buckets.

The buckets B and B' are guided in their vertical movements by the arms G and G'.

The chute C (see Figs. l and et) is connected by the arm I-I, pivoted at h with the deiiector c,which is pivoted at c' in such a manner that when the chute C swings to the right the de- Hector c moves to the left,whereby only half the movement of the chute C that would4` otherwise be required is necessary. The deiiector c, which is pivoted at c', has a central portion c", as shown bythe dotted lines,which deilects the stream of material coming from the chute C into one bucket or the other, as required. In the position shown in Fig. l the stream is being deiiected into the bucket B'. The other parts of the deflector c consist mere-ly of surrounding sides for preventing particles of material from being thrown out. The chute C is operated by the bent levers M and M' iixed upon the shafts m and m'. The bent levers M and M' are provided at their lower ends with the springs I and I', which are attached to the fixed parts e' and i'. Upon the same shafts with the arms M and M are xed the arms J 2 and J3, to whose The buckets IOO outer ends the rods J and J are pivoted. These rods J and J carry on their upper ends the rollers and j', which engage with the rollers N and N upon the arms n, and ni, and serve to hold the bent levers M and M in position against the tension of the springs I and I, and as a trip arrangement by which the springs are allowed to operate and move the chute C at each descent of a weighingbucket. The arms .l and J" bear against the rigid bars .l and J5, respectively, by which they are held in the proper position when in engagement with the arms n and `n. The arms n. and n are pivoted at O and O, respectively. The arms n and n tend by means of the springs n? and 1195, when not otherwise acted upon, to keep in contact with the eecentric limiting and adjusting rollers :c and .'r, respectively. 1t is not indispensable that the arms n and n and the rods .T andJ have friction-rollers, as the result would be substantially the same if their ends were merely slightly rounded, but it is preferable in order to save friction that one or both should be se provided. The arms n and n,whose position, and consequently their stability with reference to the rollers N and N', respectively, is regulated by the eccentric rollers ,fr and so', are further provided with the pieces Q and Q,which serve to throw the rollers N and N past the vertical line of the rollers j and j whenever the links L and L trip upon their respective scale-beams. The eccentric rollers r and r are firmly attached to rods extending from side to side of the frame of the machine and regulate the position of the arms a and yn, respectively, and in relation to rollers j and j' by the rotation of the said rods.

F (see Fig. 2) is a dash-pot mounted upon the stem p, fitting' closely upon the piece R, and is provided with the valved outlet V and the adjustable vent if. The vent c consists preferably of a screw flattened on one side, the flattening being greatest at the point litted into a threaded holevhereby, by turning the screw in or out, the air is allowed te escape more or less rapidly, and the dash-pot thereby caused to retard the ascent of the bucket more or less, as occasion demands.

The stem p (see Fig. 2 is supported bythe arm U when the bucket is in its loading' position. rllhe projection n upon the standard i1 serves upon the descent of the bucket to throw the arm YU out of engagement with the stem p', thereby allowing the dash-pot to deseend and perform its function of retarding the return of the bucket to its upper position. The adjusting-screws X and X (see Fig. l) serve to regulate the position of the rollers l and Z, and thereby determine the sensitiveness of the scale-beam trip device.

rlhe knife edges K and K of the scale-beams R and R are prevented from moving laterally by a device shown enlarged and in perspective in Fig. The prismatic piece k2 projects into a recess in the knife edge, so that the contact is on the corners 7J* a-nd r of the knife edge, which are exactly pivotal, thereby avoiding any friction in resisting the lateral movement of the beam.

Fig. 5 shows in vertical sect-ion the chute (l and deflcctor c in the position iu which theyv are discharging into the right-haml bucket, as shown by the arrow. The dotted lines show the position in which they would discharge into the left-hand bucket.

The operation of our machine as follows: ln Fig. l the bucket B .is represented as discharging its load, the door l) being opened. and the bucket itself at the lower limit ol' its vertical movement. In the meantime the bucket B is receiving its load through the chute C and deflector c, and depends by the intei-mediate mechanisms on the scale-beam l', the door being closed. W'hen the bucket I3 has received the amount of material for which the machine is adjusted-that is, enough to overcome the resistance of the weight W- the end of the scale-beam R which carries the roller i" is depressed, and being below the fulerum K' it also has a lateral movement, which carries it to the right of the vertical line, or line of stability, of the rollers rand Z, where upon the latter flies out to the lef tand allows the bucket B, with the attached standard Ii', to descend, taking downwith it the inner ends of the balance-beam E and raising the weigh t in. During the descent of the bucket l the latch L"3 engages with the stop j" and allows the door D to open for the discharge of the load. lVhen the roller Z and the link L are thrown to the left by passing the vertical line of stability, the link engages with the piece Q, attached to the arm n', carrying the roller ifi which is thereby also thrown to the left. This carries the roller N past the line of stability with reference to the roller y", allowing the rollerj with the arm J to rise through the action of the spring I attached -to the lower end of the bent lever M, which, acting upon the chute C, throws it to the left, the deflector c moving reci procally to the right, which causes the stream of material to be shifted to the bucket B, which has in the meantime risen t-o its loading position by a series ot' movements which will be explained farther on. During the descent of the bucket ll, at'- ter the link L and the roller l' have moved to the left and performed their work, the p rc* jeeting piece y on the standard i1 engages with the lower end of the bent lever M, ca rrying it down and allowing the rollers IN" and j to again assume the positions shown ,in the drawings, and extending the spring l', whereupon this part of the mechanism is upon the next descent of the bucket l again ready to perform its function of throwing the chute (i, as above described.

The positions of the mechanisms for moving the chute C are shown in Fig. le at the moment when the bucket is in thc act of descend ing but has not as yet reached the lower limit of its movement. The chute has been thrown over but the bucket has not descended far IOC IIC

enough for the projecting piece y on the standard b of the bucket to have engaged with the lower end of the bent lever M and by depressing it extend the spring I and reset the trip mechanism, consisting of the rod J, arm

fit, and rollers and N. Further, when the bucket B descends the arm u' on the standard b, (see Fig. 2,) coming in contact with the arm U', throws it out of contact with the stem 1f, allowing the latter to drop and thereby causing the dash-pot I to assume its working position-z` e., to drop over the piece Rif the inclosed air escaping through the valve V.

The movement by which the bucket B, after having discharged its load, returns to its upper or loading position will now be described. The weight w, through the balance-beam E, being somewhat heavier than the empty bucket B and its attached parts, causes it to ascend. The bucket B, however, does not ascend with an unrestricted movement, but is retarded sufficiently to allow the complete discharge of its load and to prevent the last port-ions of material from being shut in by the too sudden closing of the door D, by the action of the dash-pot mechanism heretofore described, which allows it to rise only as fast as the air can gain access through the adj ustable vent. Then the dash-pot drops, the inclosed air escapes through its upwardly-opening valve.

On the first ascent of the bucket it rises a little higher than its loading position proper, on account of the counterweight w being the heavier. This serves several purposes. It allows the roller Z to swing over the roller r, Ait causes the arm d to raise the door D high enough to be secured by the latch L2, and it carries the stem p high enough for the end of the arm U to drop under the shoulder near the lower end of the stem. The bucket B has risen before the next descent of the bucket B', and consequently is ready to receive its load when the chute C is again thrown over bythe said descent of the latter bucket. As soon as enough of the load has run into the bucket B to make it heavier than the counterweight w, it drops until the roller Z is seated upon the roller 7'. This frees the top of the standard h from contact with the stem p, the latter being held up by the arm U, and it also causes the arm d to drop out of contact with the stop F. The bucket B is now in its normal leading position and rests on the roller r and knife edge k, and is free from all other contacts except those of the guiding-arms G and G, and is consequently very sensitive to the slightest variation of its load.

IVhile the bucket B is loading the bucket B/ is discharging its load and returning to its loading position.

In this manner the machine is adapted to weigh a continuous stream of material which may be divided into lots of uniform weight by receiving each discharge of the buckets in a separate receptacle, or to simply register the amount passed through the machine by attaching any well-known registering device to register the number of discharges of the buckets, allowing all the material to run into a common conveyer.

' The gist of our invention consists chieiiy, first, in mechanism involving a spring which is set through the weight of material being weighed and is released when a full load is reached, whereby the chute is quickly shifted second, in the mechanism by which the lateral movement of the scale-beams on their knife edges is checked without undue friction; third, in a dash-pot mechanism which is not in contact with the buckets or their standards while the buckets are supported by the scale-beam; fourth, in a scale-beam and bucket connected by a suitable trip device, operating in connection with a balance-beam which returns the empty bucket and guides it with little friction; fifth, in mechanism involving' the scale-beam trip device and an adjusting-screw located independently of the bucket-standard, and in a stop for the scalebeam which is located near the trip-roll of the beam, whereby constancy of adjustment is secured.

'IVe claiml. In a weighing-machine, the combination of the chute C and bucket B; with the spring I, arm M, said arm M having a suitable locking device for sustaining the tension of the spring I, until unlocked by a movement consequent upon the weighing-bucket having received the desired weight of material, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a weighing-machine, the combination of the bucket B, chute C, arm M, spring I, and rod J 3 with the arm n adapted to pass the line of stability with reference to the rod J, when the weighing-bucket has received its roo proper load, substantially as and for the puri ypose set forth.

3. In a weighing-machine, the combination of the chute C, arm M, spring I, rod J, and arm n; with the link L which by flying out when the desired weight is reached carries the arm at past the line of stability with reference to the rod J allowing the spring I to throw the chute C, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a weighing-machine, the combination of the chute C, arm M,and spring I, said arm M being provided with a locking device; with the projection 11/ on the standard b whereby the spring I is extended by the descent of the loaded bucket and held by the locking device, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a weighing-machine, the combination of the knife edge K and its bearing; with the prismatic projection 7a2 which by contact with the pivotal corners of the knife edge K pre vents lateral motion without friction, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a weighing-machine, the combination of the bucket B' and standard b', the limit of whose vertical movement is slightly above its position when loading; with the stem p,

IIO

dash-pot mechanism, arm. Uf adapted to sustain the stein p and arm u/ on ihe standard b, whereby the stem p is held out of contact with the standard b when the bucket is loading` and is allowed to descend when the load is discharged, for the purpose of regulating, the ascent oi' the bucket to its loading,r position, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a weighing-maehine, the combination of the bucket B, weighing-beam R, standard l), and a suitable trip device operating' between the said beam R and said standard; with the balance-beam IC connected with said standard l) and having` the knife edge e, and the weight u', said weight being sullicient to overbalancc the bucket B, and return it when empty to its loading position, the beam E guidingthe standard l) in its vertical movements without sliding friction, si'ibstantially as and for the purpose set forth.

S. In a weighing-maehine, the coinbination of the roller/lI upon. the scale-beaml with the roller l, link Ii and adjusting-screw X, said screw being mounted upon a part oi' the liked framework of the machine, snbstaniially as and 'for the purpose set forth.

f). In a weighing-machine, the combination of the scale-Imam It, roller i', link L and roller t; with the ad j ustin g-serew X, located in the scale-beam R, near the roller l' and the fixed piece s which engages with the screw, suhstaniiahy as and i'or the pi'irpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification, in the presence el.' two subscribing witnesses, on this 18th day oi' October, A. I). 1892.

CHARLES II. PHILLIPS.

WILLIAM ICM IGR Y NICK' lill IH() Il'itnesses:

FRANK G. PARKER,

(iconen S. Luie. 

